Frozen River

I liked this film a lot. Visually it reminded me a bit of the Coen Bros., Fargo. The pace and timing was good and the film rolled along nicely. It was a continuous ride with no speed bumps or stop signs. No sex or mean violence either. I liked that. The story is about people smuggling in upstate New York, small time stuff, almost amateurish in a way. It takes place at the Canadian border on the Mohawk Reservation. The main reason I think this film worked so well is because it was directed, and the screenplay was written by a women, Courtney Hunt. The real guts of the film is about mothers and their natural instincts to care and protect their young. It is a very moving subplot that could only be told by a woman. Courtney Hunt has been nominated for Best Director, and Melissa Leo, who played the leading roll, was nominated for Best Actress in this years Academy Awards nominations. I hope they both win because this was a fine piece of filmmaking and they both deserve it.